Well I've done it with the valve cover off and watched the valves to make sure they were both closed and then just watched the timing marks to be sure I was at TDC.

I thought about that.

But with all the trouble I had with getting the VC to seal in the past, I don't want to remove it until I have a new one. And I don't want to spend the money on a new one until I have a better idea what is going on with this engine and if it's worth keeping.

But wanted to check a few other things out first.
In the process, I noticed the fluctuating idle had stopped.
Stopped. Kaput. Gone.

The ONLY thing I had done between when it started and yesterday was adjust the float levels, one of which was way low.

This is what get's me....
When we started this whole thing, I had one float that was just right and one that was a little higher. But I left them as is.
Now, all of a sudden, I had one that was good and one that was way low.

So I have 2 questions:
Is this indicative of a sticking float?
Specifically, how would this affect what we have seen so far/ been trying to accomplish?